shower base installation

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JBCole01

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I want to install a new shower base and surround. Should the base be set on top of the tile, or on the backerboard and have the tiled placed up to the shower base?
 

LonnythePlumber

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See John

A shower base would not normally go on top of the tile. Your drain needs to connect to the new base. Once a base is set the backerboard comes down over the tile lip of the base and the tile applied to it. It would be a value for you to go to johnbridge.com and check his ceramic tile articles.
Or maybe Kelly (cx) or one of his sites tilers will notice your message here.
 

Jimbo

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Not sure of your question; the fibreglas pan goes down FIRST. Right onto the subfloor. Follow manufacturers instructions for supporting the pan and installing the drain. Then the backerboard goes on the wall, overlapping the flange lip of the pan on the inside. Finally the tile.
 

hj

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base

Are you asking how the base sits on the floor, or against the walls? The tile always goes against the base, although on the floor it could sit on top of the tile without creating a problem.
 

JBCole01

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The Shower base is a round shower unit that fits into the corner, I am trying to find out if it will cause a problem it it sits on top of the ceramic tile instead of having the tile cut to butt up against the base and caulked. Cutting Ceramic tile on that curve will be a real pain.
 

dklein2149

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If all you are worried about is cutting the tile I would suggest renting a tile saw. Yes cutting tile is messy using the saw but it will deliver a very professional looking installation. Cutting a radius on a tile is simple. Mark the radius and using the tile saw make various cuts working toward the radius from outside in. All I suggest is that you be very careful and wear safety glasses. The blade is sharp and chips can fly off. Also the water can make thing slippery. Good luck. If you have any questions someone at a tile store can help or maybe Home Depot ........... They seem pretty knowledgeable
 

LonnythePlumber

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Get By

You can get by with the jagged cuts and breaking to get holes in the tile if it's got a big escutcheon, but it's not as strong as a circular hole. In this case I think the poster is talking about the tile that is already laid and he wants to put a pan over it. And doesn't want to try to cut in place. ?
 

Tabby411

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If you have a good tile saw or a square base it is probably better to place the base on the subfloor(backerboard in your case) but if you don't have a saw or want to rent one and you have a round base then placing the base on top of the tile is easier provided you get the tile even and level. I have done the latter with success on a round corner unit and I have done a very nice job on the former with a tub that had a straight edge. I didn't even use a saw with the tub!
 

Jadnashua

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Well, who is trying to get the post count up...John responding to a 9-year old thread...he's got to get his name out there as the god of tile. And, the guy was asking about a pre-made shower receptor, not building one.
 

Jadnashua

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Unknown provenance, no idea of actual construction details or if it was actually constructed per the manufacturer's instructions, no idea of what type of grout was used, or cleaning materials, or other maintenance or use, and read this, if you care for some unbiased industry experience on efflorescence and thinsets https://www.tcnatile.com/faqs/31-efflorescence.html. Latex migration can also leave stains on the surface of the grout, depending on the situation.

John is on a mission...he is the only one that can give information on this site regarding tiling things, or so he thinks in his mind. Things work best when you get various opinions, and sometimes, that means going elsewhere. Different viewpoints, different experiences, different biases. Don't shoot the messenger, take the info, filter it, and try to understand where it is coming from, and why. I have no financial interest in promoting any one thing or myself...John does. So far, he's disagreed with a couple of Ph.D's, the TCNA, and Schluter, saying they essentially don't know what they're talking about. It's no wonder that he finds lots of fodder with me.

It takes a lot of water penetrating the tile and mortar to leach out any salts, and in a properly constructed shower with proper drainage, especially when you're dealing with a membrane, that only leaves the grout and the thinset. There should be VERY little water that ever gets to the setting materials, and very little to effloresce. It takes awhile to totally saturate the gout down to and include the thinset - in a well constructed shower, that moisture rarely gets there, and never in any significant quantities...it evaporates or runs off first. Since most grouts are modified, and there is so little thinset beneath the tile, you really have to do something wrong for it to occur - otherwise, you won't dissolve the very small quantity of salts in the materials in the first place for them to leach to the surface.

FWIW, a modified thinset can use one or more methods to help prevent the salts from leaching, several of which are to add some oil to the thinset or to add some calcium carbonate (don't try this yourself!, leave it to the manufacturer). The modifiers can help some too. If you actually have an install over a mudbed or over a concrete slab, it can be a bigger issue, but John's knocking Schluter products which tell you to use unmodified thinsets over them, so there's only the thinset and grout that can be a source.
 
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